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Two Prayers ... or are they?
Dec. 26th, 2021 07:06 am"As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end, Amen."
English does not have a verb tense to describe the first prayer but I've come to the conclusion that that is the verb tense intended by the Lord's Prayer - one that describes a continuum of what was, is, and shall be.
God is everything; everything - physical and paraphysical; what can be touched and what cannot be touched; our lives, our hopes,our dreams, our world - all comes from God and always has. "Our daily bread" - not food but everything. As with the Hebrews in the desert when God sent them manna from heaven, it is up to us to pick it up at the proper time and way.
In return, we promise to forgive others as God forgives us ... or as we hope God to judge us. Or perhaps it is the affirmation that we realize that as we judge and treat with others, so too will we be Judged and Treated by God. That should be a very sobering realization but I don't think many consider it seriously. Probably because not many people actually believe in the gifts of the spirit any more.
We ask not to be led into evil - a few years back, that was changed to "let us not fall into evil" on the rationale that God wouldn't do anything like that! but typing the prayer, I realized that ... Yes, God would. Remember the book of Job? Satan was part of God's circle of advisors?/ court? Well, whichever, Satan was part of the group with God and from the description of the scene, had an important role - to tempt and test and try.
Mankind was created with free-will
- to do God's work and build the Kingdom here on earth here and now, every day
- or to give into the temptations of Satan and destroy the kingdom
That is where the verb tense is most messed up in the Lord's Prayer, in my opinion. As written it gives the impression that the Kingdom of God is something that will come about in the sweet by-and-by and that's just plain wrong. God's Kingdom is all around us; it is where we live now and it is up to us to make it more like heaven that hell.
How do we do that? Simple
- we do unto others as we wish others to do unto us.
- we forgive others as we hope to be forgiven.
- we understand that the measure with which we measure will be used to measure against us.
God's Kingdom is other people. How we deal with others, with love, understanding, forgiveness, courtesy, gentleness, charity, generousity ... that's how we build and support the Kingdom of God.
Or we can chose of our free-will to do the opposite - to act with fear, suspicious, hatred, violence, cruelty, greed, distrust. We can and we have created hell on earth again and again.
Our Father who art in heaven; Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
Lead us not into temptation and deliver us from evil. Amen
English does not have a verb tense to describe the first prayer but I've come to the conclusion that that is the verb tense intended by the Lord's Prayer - one that describes a continuum of what was, is, and shall be.
God is everything; everything - physical and paraphysical; what can be touched and what cannot be touched; our lives, our hopes,our dreams, our world - all comes from God and always has. "Our daily bread" - not food but everything. As with the Hebrews in the desert when God sent them manna from heaven, it is up to us to pick it up at the proper time and way.
In return, we promise to forgive others as God forgives us ... or as we hope God to judge us. Or perhaps it is the affirmation that we realize that as we judge and treat with others, so too will we be Judged and Treated by God. That should be a very sobering realization but I don't think many consider it seriously. Probably because not many people actually believe in the gifts of the spirit any more.
We ask not to be led into evil - a few years back, that was changed to "let us not fall into evil" on the rationale that God wouldn't do anything like that! but typing the prayer, I realized that ... Yes, God would. Remember the book of Job? Satan was part of God's circle of advisors?/ court? Well, whichever, Satan was part of the group with God and from the description of the scene, had an important role - to tempt and test and try.
Mankind was created with free-will
- to do God's work and build the Kingdom here on earth here and now, every day
- or to give into the temptations of Satan and destroy the kingdom
That is where the verb tense is most messed up in the Lord's Prayer, in my opinion. As written it gives the impression that the Kingdom of God is something that will come about in the sweet by-and-by and that's just plain wrong. God's Kingdom is all around us; it is where we live now and it is up to us to make it more like heaven that hell.
How do we do that? Simple
- we do unto others as we wish others to do unto us.
- we forgive others as we hope to be forgiven.
- we understand that the measure with which we measure will be used to measure against us.
God's Kingdom is other people. How we deal with others, with love, understanding, forgiveness, courtesy, gentleness, charity, generousity ... that's how we build and support the Kingdom of God.
Or we can chose of our free-will to do the opposite - to act with fear, suspicious, hatred, violence, cruelty, greed, distrust. We can and we have created hell on earth again and again.
